Monitoring Desk
PHUKET: A meeting was held on Tuesday (Jan 28) at Phuket Provincial Hall to discuss and analyse the impact of the Chinese coronavirus on the Phuket tourism sector and to determine a prevention strategy to protect locals and tourists from any threats.
The meeting was chaired by Phuket Governor PhakaphongTavipatana; Phuket Vice Governor, SupojRotreuang Na Nongkhai, and other relevant officers were also present.
Governor Phakaphong said that the Phuket government has been working closely with many organisations to devise measures to protect and prevent international tourists from being infected by the virus.
Phuket Public Health Office Chief ThanitSermkaew confirmed that so far there have been no tourists infected from the coronavirus. There have been 23 suspected cases where 13 have been cleared and 10 are still under observation.
Chief Thanit also confirmed PPHO officers and staff are checking and screening all tourists arriving from China at the airport.
Flight cancellations
The aviation industry has been sharply disrupted by the virus outbreak and many airlines are now cutting back on or outright cancelling flights to and from mainland China, which has had a detrimental impact on tourist numbers visiting the island.
The Chinese government enforced a lockdown on the city of Wuhan, effectively grounding all outbound flights.
Air Asia confirmed that all 20 of its direct flights from Wuhan have been cancelled until Feb 29. Charter flights from Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in Southwest China, were similarly cancelled. As a result of these cancellations many tourists were left stranded in Phuket, unsure as to how they would be able to return home.
Officers from Phuket government are working on contacting relevant organisations to take them back to China.
“Phuket Government has set up an official team under the name Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) which includes officers from various tourism related organisations to update information and help Chinese tourists,” commented Governor Phakaphong.
“We need to understand the exact numbers of tourists affected by flight cancellations in order to be able to plan and assist them. At this stage, we are still brainstorming to find a best solution to help them,” he continued.
“There are 160 flights coming into Phuket International Airport every day. Usually, during the current period that coincides with Chinese New Year, 40 of these flights are from China, bringing approximately 8,000 tourists per day. Right now, factoring in the flight cancellations, the number has declined to about 2,000 per day.
Despite the drop off, Chinese still provide the largest number of overseas tourists from any country to Phuket. “Thailand and China have always maintained good relations, so we ask everyone to please take care of our visitors like your relatives,” said Governor Phakaphong.
President of The Thailand Hotels Association Southern chapter, KongsakKhongphongsakorn, confirmed that they are working on collecting data on the number of hotel rooms that have been cancelled.
He stated that the Chinese government’s restriction on its citizens travelling overseas, particularly in Wuhan where all outbound flights have been grounded, will have a profound effect.
Information shared by three hotel managers confirmed that 20% of bookings have been cancelled, especially in hotels that cater specifically for tour groups, common among Chinese.
However, bookings from independent travellers have not yet been cancelled as, typically, they do not tend to book their accommodation too far in advance.
MrKongsak explained that, fortunately, tourists from other parts of the world are still coming as there have not been any cancellations of bookings registered yet.
Courtesy: (thephuketnews)
